Kukla's Korner Hockey

NEW YORK (June 22, 2014) – The NHL’s 2014-15 regular season (link to schedule, all teams) will commence on Wednesday, Oct. 8, with a four-game slate, highlighted by the Los Angeles Kings raising their second championship banner in the past three seasons. The 1,230-game regular-season schedule – 82 games per team – will conclude on Saturday, April 11, with all 30 clubs in action.

After becoming the fourth team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit in the First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Kings will raise their championship banner on opening night against the team they rallied to defeat – the San Jose Sharks. The other three games on the opening night of the 2014-15 season: the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs re-new their “Original Six” rivalry at Air Canada Centre; the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Boston Bruins at TD Garden; and the Calgary Flames welcome the Vancouver Canucks to Scotiabank Saddledome.

The Washington Capitals will play host to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Thursday, Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. ET. The game, one of only two contests on New Year’s Day, marks the second Winter Classic for both clubs (WSH in 2011, CHI in 2009), while the Blackhawks will be making their third appearance in a regular-season outdoor game (also 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series). More details on the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic will be released in the coming weeks.

The League’s regular-season schedule will pause from Jan. 22-26, so the world’s top players can gather in Columbus for the 2015 NHL All-Star Weekend – a first for Nationwide Arena and the city. Then, what is sure to be another furious stretch run will ensue until the final day of the regular season, when all 30 teams will take to the ice on Saturday, April 11.

The 2014-15 season marks the beginning of a landmark 12-year broadcast and multimedia agreement between the League and Rogers Communications that includes all national rights to NHL games on all platforms in all languages. The agreement, the largest media rights deal in League history, marks the first time a premium North American-wide sports league has granted all of its national (Canadian) rights to one company on a long-term basis.

In the U.S., the NHL enters the fourth season of its 10-year agreement with NBC and NBCSN. It also marks the 10th consecutive season both networks have served as a national television partner of the NHL in the U.S.

Full national broadcasting schedules will be released at a later date.

Reminder: Scheduling Matrix

The scheduling matrix, effective as of last season, ensures that all 30 teams play in all 30 arenas at least once a season: